Drama Students Perform in Original Works Festival

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On Friday, Feb. 24 Miramonte presented the exclusive one night showing of the Original Works Festival. Students in all different levels of Drama participated in these short plays. The plays ranged from the serious, emotional tragedies to the hilarious adventures of superheroes.

Drama students wrote original plays inspired by Ghost Light, a play written by Cal Shakes artistic director, Jonathon Moscone, which concentrates on a man who encounters ghosts while struggling with the loss of his father. Students saw the play at Berkeley Rep and created their own works based on the themes in Ghost Light.

As part of the final exam, Drama I students wrote monologues, Drama II students wrote two-person scenes, and Advanced Drama students wrote short plays. For weeks students revised and rewrote the works until they were ready to perform. Advanced Drama students held auditions and call-backs for Drama II students who would be cast in their plays.

“The play writing process was pretty interesting, because we wrote them as collaborations with our partners,” said sophomore Alyssa Henderson. “We got to bounce ideas off each other, and I loved watching our ideas take shape in our script.”

Miramonte Drama students spent weeks preparing for this event. The directors of each show held rehearsals outside of school and often on weekends. The cast worked tirelessly at perfecting their roles in each play.

“I worked on memorizing my lines typically by recording them as I recited them, and then listening to them on the computer, in order to figure out spots where I needed to work on my enunciation, especially parts where I had heavy dialogue,” said junior Nathan Lie.

The event was a huge success. The theater was filled with excited students, parents, and siblings. The crowd experienced many different emotions throughout the night. There was a good ratio of dramatic and thought-provoking scenes to humorous and fun scenes.

“Everyone involved in the show came to it very well prepared, and pretty much everything went off without a hitch,” said Lie.

The characters the students brought to life on the stage delighted the audience. The Drama students played their roles realistically and brought their characters to life. The students’ acting was impressive and moving. Even students in drama were amazed with their classmates’ productions.

“There were some things that I had seen without tech and other finishing touches and they blew me away,” said senior Beverly Worth.

The weeks of preparation for this event paid off. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the show and the Miramonte drama classes pulled off an amazing spectacle. The Original Works Festival gave only a glimpse of the talented actors in Miramonte’s drama classes.